Hantz Financial Services Inc. Acquires Shares of 472 Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 472 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Paychex by 8.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,703 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Paychex in the fourth quarter worth $1,400,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 85.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,259,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $154,263,000 after acquiring an additional 579,136 shares during the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the fourth quarter valued at $23,330,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Paychex in the 4th quarter worth about $774,000. 83.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total transaction of $1,207,644.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $676,104.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 9,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.60, for a total value of $1,207,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $676,104.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David J. S. Flaschen sold 14,434 shares of Paychex stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.21, for a total transaction of $1,807,281.14. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $674,005.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,163 shares of company stock worth $17,537,817 over the last quarter. 11.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Paychex Price Performance

NASDAQ PAYX opened at $131.20 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $123.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.86. Paychex, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.27 and a 52 week high of $132.13.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The business services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Paychex had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 46.63%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Paychex, Inc. will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Paychex Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on PAYX shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Paychex from $120.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of Paychex in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Paychex from $125.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Paychex from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Paychex from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.62.

Paychex Profile

Paychex, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated human capital management solutions (HCM) for payroll, benefits, human resources (HR), and insurance services for small to medium-sized businesses in the United States, Europe, and India. It offers payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing.